tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76999271596999639732024-03-13T20:05:46.851-07:00Observe, Listen, RepeatDigital life, real life; and how to live itJohn Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-89806876056240205032010-01-23T02:28:00.000-08:002010-01-23T02:57:13.080-08:00Irish State should give free office space to start-ups<a href="http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2008/Nov/Week1/15144753.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2008/Nov/Week1/15144753.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/lenihan-adviser-well-soon-have-banks-helping-firms-2028517.html">An article in the Irish Independent</a> this morning reports that Brian Lenihan's economic advisor Alan Ahearne reckons the banks that the Irish taxpayer bailed out through NAMA will soon be "fit-for-purpose" and in a position to start supporting Irish firms again.<br /><br /><br />Here's this for an idea: If the taxpayer - a la our very tired Government - owns the properties of now bankrupt FF developer friends from the Galway Races Tent, why don't we provide free office space to start-up companies?<br /><br />It would be a small but practical gesture from our bent so-called elite towards balancing the books. It would allow start-ups breathing space to focus on creating products for export and free cash up to stimulate the local economy through the freedom to put money that would have been rent into perhaps hiring more people or spending on other goods and services.<br /><br />I know of firms struggling to survive every day. Within these firms are people with families, parents of kids with hopes and dreams. It disgusts me that we go to all the trouble of saving banks that won't lend and support companies that have been around decades.<br /><br />This situation better change soon. I write this as I watch a report on Sky on the return of irresponsible bonus culture in the City of London. I completely understand <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/7056029/Barack-Obama-bank-reforms-Trying-to-fix-a-broker-society.html">Barack Obama's anger and frustration at the bonus culture in the US</a>. A guy on Sky right now is talking about his half a million a year bonuses during the high times.<br /><br />The steps Ireland has been taking have been applauded internationally, but it won't matter a hoot in the private sector until the banks support local firms.<br /><br />We've stabilised the banking sector, now where's the country's stimulus plan?John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-20422186892050549632009-10-01T08:21:00.000-07:002009-10-01T08:22:37.575-07:00Meeja 4.0<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6ILQrUrEWe8&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6ILQrUrEWe8&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-84734316528247197592009-07-17T18:44:00.000-07:002009-07-17T18:54:43.063-07:00<a href="http://blogs.uscannenberg.org/samantha_page/walter_cronkite.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 235px;" src="http://blogs.uscannenberg.org/samantha_page/walter_cronkite.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Legendary newsman Walter Cronkite died tonight aged 92. His number one rule 'establish trust with your audience' is very true today in the midst of the internet age. TIME Magazine has a touching <a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#4z9yBh/www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1911501,00.html/">obit on the man</a>.<br /><br /> My memory of Cronkite was around 2000 at a CA convention in Orlando where he spoke of having a scoop on peace talks between Israel and Egypt. All his rivals were in the same airport heading to Israel and he was trying to get on a plane to Cairo. He managed to convince a plane load of die-hard pro journalists he was on the same flight as them. <br /><br />It only dawned on the hapless reporters that he had something entirely different when they discovered he wasn't on the plane. Beautiful<br /><br />That's my memory of Walter.John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-74526914909492233092009-05-31T05:53:00.000-07:002009-05-31T06:15:22.629-07:00Media was always social, it just needed reminding<strong><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Why I believe the modern media can secure its future by embracing even more modern social media. Why I believe modern media has little to fear if it just gets out there and uses the stuff. Why I believe change is constant, change is good but fear paralyses</span></strong><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I’m a kind of excitable person who doesn’t find it easy to sit still, my mind moves faster than my body and I absolutely hated school and college. I have no love for offices either and prefer to be properly engaged, seeing things with my own eyes and touching the technology, and most importantly hearing the people speak. Because no matter what happens with technology, shiny new gadgets, social media and the next killer app, in general, it’s always going to be about the people. Relationships that feed my hunger for knowledge – and result in a story – are pure gold to me.<br /><br />When you see the latest </span><a href="http://www.twitter.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">, </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Facebook</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">, </span><a href="http://www.ping.fm/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Ping.fm</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> or </span><a href="http://tweetdeck.com/beta/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Tweetdeck</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> application that you absolutely must have, fundamentally it’s people connecting, getting the news, the gossip, getting on a stage to impress their views. It’s all quite clear to me. It’s not about having the must-have app or device – well not for everyone – but it’s the exchange of knowledge and connecting with people. The ‘social’ in media. When you think about it, that was quintessentially the role of the newspaper for the last 200 years.<br /><br />The newspaper industry is going through a monumental change, some have folded and others are going ‘online only’. There’s a view that the newspaper industry is dying. I don’t believe it is at all. In fact, the future of newspapers, their brands in particular, is in fact potentially glorious.<br /><br />When I fell in love with journalism I had no patience for theory and wanted to get practicing. I had a romantic notion of busy newsrooms and passionate suits for truth. Once, on my first visit to a newspaper office, I politely asked my guide where all the reporters were. “They’re out getting stories”, he grumbled in a tone that suggested I should have known better. This was two years before </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronica_Guerin"><span style="font-family:arial;">Veronica Guerin</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> was shot and a world removed from journalism of today where people rarely seem to leave their offices.<br /><br />After college, I wrote newspaper articles mostly for free for local newspapers. A kind news editor in a national newspaper always took my calls and pushed the odd little assignment my way; he never discouraged me.<br /><br />Slowly, I built up enough work to have enough of a raison d’etre not to have to sign on at the local dole office. This was the early 1990s and at the time I didn’t have a computer. I would thumb lifts to nearby towns to attend a court case or an angry local community meeting.<br /><br />Afterwards I would try to make sense of my scribbled notes, find a phone box and make a reverse-charge call to the newspaper where a middle-aged lady patiently typed up my dictated story. I would go home where I’d wait excitedly till the next morning and the paper appeared to see if my story was published. A local solicitor let me use his fax machine for free to file copy to magazines and I was aware of only one person in my town who had a modem which I judged it too complicated for me to use.<br /><br />Today, I can write up a news story and send it to a sub-editor or as I do most mornings before 7am, input it directly into a content management system and by hitting a single button can broadcast it to the entire world.<br /><br />The technologies of today are a pure marvel, and compared with my low-tech world of typewriters, faxes and reversed charges I can’t believe the sheer fire power the average teenager or adult has at their disposal. In mere seconds a person could send a video by </span><a href="http://www.qik.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Qik</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> to thousands of people from their mobile phone, upload it on </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">YouTube</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and share across social networks. Your </span><a href="http://www.secondlife.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Second Life</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> avatar could attend a college lecture in a virtual world. A flash mob could organise itself to take over a railway station, dance wildly and put a smile on everyone’s face, even if it was a marketing stunt for T-Mobile.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VQ3d3KigPQM&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VQ3d3KigPQM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />The average person today has more firepower in their mobile phone to broadcast to the world in seconds than a TV camera crew had a decade ago. It used to be a matter of luck and being in the right place and right time with a camera or a notebook. Now the eyes and ears are everywhere.<br /><br />If I feel strongly enough about something I could blog about it. I could ‘tweet’ a question to hundreds of ‘followers’ on Twitter and may get an answer. I could communicate with hundreds of ‘friends’ on Facebook some joke or ironic view.<br /><br />You could argue that the newspaper, which for two or three hundred years was the fulcrum of such activity, as indeed were TV companies and radio stations for the past 50 years, have met their match in a few short years.<br /><br />Over the past couple of weeks I have been working on a cover story for </span><a href="http://www.marketingage.ie/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Marketing Age</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> on the future of newspapers, which should be on shelves next week. During my conversations with people like Menno van Doorn, author of the brilliant book </span><a href="http://www.methemedia.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Me the Media</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> as well as Damian Lawlor, head of Adwords at </span><a href="http://www.google.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Google</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">, I’ve come to realise that a consolidation of all the noise we hear is coming and that newspapers and magazines, and especially journalism, could thrive in this social media future.<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 500px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 356px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://blog.acumenfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/social-media.jpg" border="0" /><br />Firstly, for reasons of firepower, all these tools and technologies will lead to a richer fabric, a more colourful world than ever for a treasure trove of stories. Oh, and in terms of fabric, a guy I was talking to this week suggested researchers are looking at putting LED technology into the fabric of clothes. Imagine teenagers walking around with videos playing on their T-shirts, or their Bebo front page emblazoned to say who they are.<br /><br />But yes, there’s going to be a lot of noise. According to Menno’s book 2007 was a “memorable year” because more information was generated in that single year than in the entire history of writing since its inception in Mesopotamia over 5,000 years ago.<br /><br />The ivory towers that journalists used to inhabit in the privileged role of being the sole disseminator of news are crumbling. Is this a bad thing? I don’t think so. On one hand this is how I make a living, on the other I see a wave of democratisation of media crashing everywhere. I see a wonderful world emerging. Because people are people, this path was inevitable. The technologies evolve, people like to connect and express themselves. Take your mind off the ‘next big thing’ and see it for what it is.</span><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></p></span><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 340px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 450px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://homepage.mac.com/leperous/.Pictures/reporter.jpg" border="0" /> <ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">The more technologies we create that bring people together the more disruptive forces will assail media or media as it was. It’s inevitable, let’s just accept that.<br /><br />It’s a question of adapting and seeing things for what they are. Who knows? The service or solution that will outshine Facebook, Google, YouTube and MySpace all together is probably a germ of an idea in a 15 year-old’s bedroom as I write. Maybe that child is Irish, maybe he or she is Korean or Russian. And in 10 years time their idea will be surpassed by something else. Change is constant.<br /><br />But back to newspapers, I believe they do have a promising future. The problems they face today have less to do with the internet than the over-reliance on property advertising and the fact that a global recession is under way. The most damaging truth about today’s media is that under 30s have not developed a habit of buying papers on a daily basis and access their audio via </span><a href="http://blip.fm/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Blip.fm</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> or video on YouTube and Qik.<br /><br />If anything, the internet is possibly saving traditional media. News aggregators like Google News actually drive people to newspaper websites and with the addition of YouTube into the Google News engine it will drive people to broadcasts from services like NBC, BBC and RTE.<br /><br />A consolidation of all this noise is coming. Searches for news or content very soon will be skewed in the direction of quality content from specific sources. Brands and quality will separate the wheat from the chaff and magazines from Forbes to Newsweek and newspapers that embrace the social media future as a way of disseminating quality content will indeed thrive.<br /><br />The key is connecting the virtual with the physical:<br /><br />A marketing campaign that features components that results in people buying newspapers and magazines, unlocking prizes or clues by scanning their phone over a 3-D image and instantly have them interacting with the publisher’s website<br /><br />Tuning into a TV show that also features 3D imagery that only your phone can unlock for a puzzle, text back and win your prize<br /><br />Tweeting rather than texting answers to quizzes or giving views on TV and radio shows like Primetime and showing these views alongside the live broadcast<br /><br />Augmented reality where if you look through your phone’s camera screen for a sign or symbol in a TV show or in a newspaper report you are pointing your phone at you get additional information or link straight to supporting knowledge<br /><br />Local newspapers, in particular, could have a very vibrant future if they got with the latest tools. Menno </span><a href="http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/12891/new-media/can-traditional-media-survive-the-third-media-revolution/"><span style="font-family:arial;">described a very compelling idea to me</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> whereby if I’m a visitor to a local town and am equipped with an Android phone, by pointing it at a local point of interest the telematics in the device could know where I’m standing, what direction I’m facing and algorithms in the device could interact with the local newspaper office to give me information on the monument as well as direct me to local services like restaurants, hotels and bars, providing an advertising value-add for businesses.<br /><br />The adage ‘never waste a good recession’ is as true for media houses as it is for anyone in business. Change is constant, change is good. But fear paralyses.<br /></span><br />JK </li></ul>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-48198844887093305672009-04-23T08:21:00.000-07:002009-04-23T08:31:37.788-07:00A nation howls with rage'If you're wealthy you can probably relax, but if you're poor you'll see you're cash go down .... when Lenihan comes around.'<br /><br /><br /><br />Lenihan comes Around Soundtrack courtesy of the Emergency as heard on Newstalk 106. "Cashdog" vocal by Morgan C Jones. Puppeteer Conor Lambert. This shows the bark side of irish politics.' - Dog Owners Weekly<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rlxP9p8Dx4k&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rlxP9p8Dx4k&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-76060153593093638802009-04-11T02:54:00.000-07:002009-04-11T02:56:42.687-07:00Pre-fabricate this!<a href="http://www.cornamaddy.com/images/prefabhistory.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 500px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 370px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.cornamaddy.com/images/prefabhistory.jpg" /></a> <br />I heard with interest yesterday that our wonderful government is content to pay 48 million euros a year to rent these miserable prefab units for our young to go to class in.<br /><br />This was in answer to a parliamentary question by Fine Gael.<br /><br />The outrage seemed to be directed at the waste of money, it would be cheaper to buy these units than pay exorbitant rent every year.<br /><br />Fair point.<br /><br />But does no one realise the real scandal is the fact that we use these prefab units at all?<br /><br />I remember these things well; rickety, smelly exaggerated huts if you ask me. Then again, I went to a school where an entire pre-fab section of the miserable ghetto was called the 'Bogside'. Says it all really.<br /><br />What are needed are modern, bright, clean, energy efficient permanent buildings.<br /><br />Prefabs are temporary structures. The problem is they've become a permanent part of the thinking of our inept decision makers.John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-34778184440638528182009-04-08T03:12:00.000-07:002009-04-08T03:47:44.680-07:00Seriously, dare you call yourself ‘public servants’?<a href="http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/watchdog/blog/Rep_Edvard_Munch_The_Scream_Oil_Painting_Art_Prints.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 535px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 630px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/watchdog/blog/Rep_Edvard_Munch_The_Scream_Oil_Painting_Art_Prints.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />If I have to listen to another so-called public servant bemoan their 7.5pc pension levy and financial challenges because of the latest Budget, let me remind them of a few things:<br /><br />• The majority of private sector people are not as well paid as their counterparts in the public sector who cost this country €20bn per annum<br />• Their lower paid private sector counterparts actually generate the tax revenues that fill the public purse<br />• The majority of private sector people have taken pay cuts of 10pc and many don’t have a pension to look forward to on retirement<br />• 60pc of women in the private sector don’t even have a pension<br />• most people in the private sector are existing on a week to week basis, they don't have the guarantee of jobs for life<br /><br />I get it that not all public servants are well-paid. But neither are the majority of private sector workers who fear the spectre of redundancies and dole queues.<br /><br />If 100,000 people with cushy jobs and even cushier pension arrangements want to strike and march and in the process help bring the economy to a grinding halt, they won’t get my sympathy. They’ get my venom.<br /><br />Grow up for God’s sake.John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-14912906500699443672009-03-25T11:00:00.001-07:002009-03-25T11:00:48.745-07:00Dangit, give me vinyl anytime, but seriously good effort<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7EkL13MeLdM&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7EkL13MeLdM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-36732903315042381562009-03-24T10:23:00.001-07:002009-03-24T10:23:38.581-07:00Just who is wearing the trousers?<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rQsR09ER4Yk&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rQsR09ER4Yk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-57731813015629034672009-03-24T09:39:00.001-07:002009-03-24T09:39:29.096-07:00Now that's what I call a coffee machine!<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-LSCds4Yy2Y&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-LSCds4Yy2Y&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-7973807353376415272009-03-08T04:46:00.000-07:002009-03-24T09:21:15.411-07:00Another Bloody Sunday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://dynimg.rte.ie/000220f810dr.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 269px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 202px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://dynimg.rte.ie/000220f810dr.jpg" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:13;">Two British soldiers were shot dead and four other people seriously injured during an attack on a British Army base in Antrim town last night.</span> <div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:13;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:13;">Not only has the economy gone back to the 80s, so too have the terrorists.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:13;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:13;">We cannot allow this to be happening again. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the young soldiers and the families of the injured. My thoughts are also with the communities of the North, whatever their faith. This video from the 80s is sadly apt:<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/c9c4lLnY0rA&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/c9c4lLnY0rA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-50153193353549412992009-03-24T09:15:00.000-07:002009-03-24T09:16:59.485-07:00Communications, The Musical<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Hv4rh6D_Jho&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Hv4rh6D_Jho&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-4595603233747497892009-02-21T09:36:00.000-08:002009-02-21T10:04:58.155-08:00This year over 1,000 orphans in Belarus received a visit from an Irish charity<div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s-3uETt5KoQ/SaA-AgOUqOI/AAAAAAAAACU/lEzMQGP-7iw/s1600-h/Donal+II.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305308539413375202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s-3uETt5KoQ/SaA-AgOUqOI/AAAAAAAAACU/lEzMQGP-7iw/s200/Donal+II.JPG" border="0" /></a> As our car makes it progress through a seemingly endless forest in the countryside of Belarus, snow hangs off the trees and I can’t help but reflect how the idyllic scene has been played out on Christmas cards that decorated Irish fireplaces for as far back as I can remember. </div><div><br /> </div><div>But for many of the 13,000 orphans spread across 57 orphanages in the country which was most affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster (60pc of the fallout landed on Belarus), homely Christmas scenes are a memory or most often figments of their imagination.<br /><br />That is except for the over 1,000 children who this year – and for nearly 10 years previous –received presents, a Christmas party and much needed improvements to their orphanage when Santa Claus and his helpers rolled into town with help from the people of Ireland.<br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305309112449648066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s-3uETt5KoQ/SaA-h280RcI/AAAAAAAAACc/HtXd7P1Pq1s/s200/Tom+with+boys.JPG" border="0" /> It was while covering a story for a Sunday paper 10 years ago on the efforts of Irish aid groups in the Chernobyl area that International Orphanage Development Fund (IODP) founder Tom McEnaney sparked on the idea of bringing Santa to orphans in time for the Russian Christmas which falls on 7 January.<br /><br />Since then and without fail groups of Irish volunteers have raised the money to buy the toys in answer to the children’s letters to Santa as well as identify and execute much needed improvements to their living conditions.<br /></div><div>In this time many of the orphanages the group has worked for have received on average €300,000 each to pay for everything from new roofs, windows, beds, medical equipment as well as sports equipments and books to nourish growing minds.<br /><br />This was my second trip with the group and while I found it hard to tear myself away from the warm living room hearth at Christmas I had to agree with fellow fundraiser Noleen Behan, a senior civil servant, it made sense once I was on my way. “It’s always hard but every year it gets better,” says Noleen.<br /></div><div>The proof of this was my return to Osipovichi, an orphanage for 90 children with physical motor difficulties after one year. My first visit there was also my first time to ever visit an orphanage and on that occasion I felt numb as I surveyed cold rooms, inadequate windows, antiquated equipment and poor lighting.<br /><br />The first thoughts to often run through your head when you visit an orphanage is of loved ones back home and how young relatives could ever survive in such a place. At the same time I witnessed and understood genuine love and commitment from the orphanage’s staff who were doing the best they could with limited resources.<br /><br />A year later I was instantly struck by how warm and bright the orphanage was as happy smiling children welcomed us in. Since our visit a year ago the orphanage received 50 new beds, fluorescent lighting put in place throughout as well as ultrasound equipment to stimulate and develop the children’s muscles.<br /><br />Santa on the day was Donal McNally, an architect from Dublin, who was an absolute natural and whose other mission was to sketch out plans for a new equestrian centre for the orphanage. Another key plan is to replace crumbling exercise baths installed in the 1930s with a modern swimming pool to help stimulate the orphans’ development.<br /><br />I was pleased to run into two boys at Osipovichi that I met last year, Yuri and Dima, who regaled me with tales about their visits to America and their love of the cinema and Harry Potter, whose books grace the library there thanks to the IODP.<br /><br />As we sat down to drink tea with the orphanage director, the resident doctor, a lady called Tatiana told us how she was about to resign last year because she didn’t have the medical supplies to help the children until the IODP bought them while on the trip last year. “All the staff were shocked by the improvements. We didn’t expect so much. We have found it to be emotional and inspirational,” she said in a trembling voice.<br /><br />The next day, after a long trip across a snow-blasted landscape to visit Berezino, we met 21 of the orphanage’s 91 children. There we were dismayed to learn of the Belarus government’s plans to close as many orphanages as possible to make way for SOS villages and foster homes. Overall, this may be a good thing, but ultimately the foster homes will need to be better than the homes many of the children had left behind.<br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305309849879434802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s-3uETt5KoQ/SaA_MyFx1jI/AAAAAAAAACk/6RoUNS6LbC0/s200/Canteen.JPG" border="0" /> One of the key strategies of the IODP has been to make the orphanages as self-sufficient as possible and often farm equipment from tractors to piggeries have been acquired and put in place. But in Berezino’s case the piggery was shut down as the government intends to use the land to build houses.<br /><br />The importance of farm equipment was underlined by Tom who on his return from an orphanage called Dubrovno in the north of Belarus revealed that it hadn’t received a subvention from the state for over six months. “They were able to grow potatoes and feed themselves and also generate a small profit from what they grew themselves,” he pointed out.<br /><br />The next day we visited Rudensk, a home for children aged 8-20 years who have mental disabilities or have been sexually abused and who mostly hail from the Chernobyl region. It was my turn to don the red suit for over 105 of the 164 children present this year.<br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305310182482719154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_s-3uETt5KoQ/SaA_gJIlMbI/AAAAAAAAACs/9Mhlkzg5CQQ/s200/JK+as+santa.JPG" border="0" /> We received a warm welcome from the Rudensk orphanage’s director Valentin who told us the children there have come to expect the traditional visit from Irish Santa Clauses with toys and sweets for the children. This is important across all the orphanages, he said, because the Belarus state can’t afford to send the children presents every year. </div><div><br /> </div><div>Rudensk is a particularly special orphanage as many of its young athletes have competed successfully for gold and silver medals at the Special Olympics in Ireland and China. </div><div><br /><br />“It’s hard to imagine what would have happened to this orphanage without the IODP and Tom. Everything we had was being destroyed through wear and tear,” Valentin said, pointing out that in recent years the orphanage received over €300,000 in fiscal aid from the IODP. </div><div><br /> </div><div>Aside from requests for vacuum cleaners and a lawnmower, Valentin said that what’s vitally important in time for the Spring is that the children receive new clothes and shoes. Rudensk works to equip the kids with vital work skills to handle everything from farming to working as mechanics. “We have been able to produce over 100 tons of vegetables this year,” he exclaimed proudly. “The main thing is to ensure the children can work when they graduate.”<br /><br />Valentin, who has been at his post for over 21 years now, pointed to the sad fact that some of the children who attended Rudensk are now sending their own children to their orphanage. </div><div><br /> </div><div>One of the first things you realise about these orphanages is a large number of the children are defined as ‘social orphans’ insofar as they have been put in the orphanages for their own good to escape homes blighted by alcohol, drug and sexual abuse. Valentin’s revealing statistic is that out of over 10,000 children in orphanages in Belarus, only 1,500 don’t have parents. </div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305310516205119282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s-3uETt5KoQ/SaA_zkWM5zI/AAAAAAAAAC0/D0xYjwcdPCQ/s200/group+shot.JPG" border="0" /><br />“There is a law today that biological parents have to pay for their children’s upkeep at the orphanages but this is difficult to arrange. Many are alcoholics and it’s difficult to track them down,” he regrets.<br /><br />As various groups of children with broad smiles trooped up to receive their presents from Santa and demonstrated their gratitude through songs and dances, Valentin’s words echoed in my head. But there is something mystical about the chime of a child’s laugh that keeps you in the present. However, it’s the future Valentin is concerned about. <div><br />They party atmosphere at Rudensk was sustained by Aileen Durkan, a former nurse and a businesswoman who lives in Dublin, who brought face paints to entertain the youngsters. Their laughter competed with Aileen’s as she expressed genuine amusement as kids with newly painted faces ran to wash the paint off just to be painted on again. Something tells me Aileen would still be there today painting their little faces if she could. </div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305310798075077714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s-3uETt5KoQ/SaBAD-ZPJFI/AAAAAAAAAC8/ZyCR8j7Ku2s/s200/Aileen+painting.JPG" border="0" />In many of the orphanages we visited children were absent because they were visiting families who welcomed them overseas, mainly in Ireland and Italy. “Most of the children visit Italy because Ireland doesn’t invite as many of them as Italy,” he said.<br /><br />The warm glow and happy atmosphere at Rudensk was replaced by the more formal and militaristic environment the following day at Krivichi, a children’s prison, home to 24 boys all attired in some form of camouflage garb. Krivichi opened in September and can accommodate 68 children. It is specifically for children with health ailments who have been convicted by a court. The most common offence was theft.<br /><br />Responding to barked out orders the boys trooped to and from their lunch. All semblance of military order disappeared as they smiled gratefully as I handed them their presents of MP3 players, with the one exception being a Flash memory card. Ordered ranks dissipated into chaos as they ran to play with additional gifts of chess sets, pets and PlayStations.<br /><br />Tom and Donal just narrowly defeated the home teams at chess, but despite Irish honour being upheld Tom is adamant in his quest to see chess rooms installed in all 57 of Belarus’s orphanages. Something tells me he will succeed at this having already successfully installed playgrounds in all of the orphanages in recent years.<br /><br />The sombre nature of Krivichi was brought crashing home with a visit to the ‘House of Culture’, an austere cooler cell in which an inmate is restrained for three days at a time. Unlike Steve McQueen who in the Great Escape had a baseball to bounce off the wall, the one accoutrement the present inmate, a 12 year-old, had was a bed with a one inch-thick mattress.<br /><br />The IODP’s inspired decision for Krivichi is to invest not only in new windows for the orphanage but also an ice rink and equipment to encourage the boys to take up ice hockey, pretty much the national sport of Belarus since it is its president Alexander Lukashenko is an avid fan of ice hockey.<br /><br />Our final visits were to two orphanages in Beshankovichi in north eastern Belarus, close to the region’s cultural capital of Vitebsk. The first was to a centre for children with Downs Syndrome which had 10 full-time children residing as well as 20 children who visited on a consulting basis.<br /><br />Donal’s natural gift for playing the role of Santa was revived as he danced and careened around the floor to the tune of DJ Aligator’s ‘I Like To Move It, Move It’ which came from a dancing cow that was one of the children’s presents.<br /><br />Ahead of the IODP’s visit many of the presents for the kids were bought in advance by platoons from a paintball team from Minsk interestingly called ‘Team Irish’ led by the IODP’s man on the ground in Belarus, Denis. The IODP makes a point of buying all of the toys and infrastructure locally as it helps the local economy.<br /><br />Our final visit was to Beshankovichi Transition Orphanage, which Tom introduced to us by saying: “This place will break your heart. It is where children just taken from their homes are kept until a decision is made what to do with them.” </div><div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305311154519862482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s-3uETt5KoQ/SaBAYuQS7NI/AAAAAAAAADE/E0xiZAqXU8U/s200/Donal+and+girl.JPG" border="0" /> He explained the transition orphanage is mainly kids between three and 12 who have been taken from their parents and there’s a period where parents can reclaim their children before being sent on to an orphanage. “Usually orphanages are better places than the home they came from.” One child’s family, he said, took up floor boards to sell for alcohol.<br /><br />Little boys in smart suits cautiously entered the room followed by little girls with solemn, composed faces. Once again the magic spell of Santa Claus – or Father Frost as he is known in Belarus – was evoked as uncertainty and solemnity was erased on faces that broke into the warmest, most grateful smiles I ever witnessed. Tom was right, this place did break my heart.<br /><br />He pointed out on this trip that the one thing the Belarus people do is endure. It is a country that has been crisscrossed by many empires from the Tsar’s and the Napoleonic to the Nazi and the Soviet. It has also to contend with extremes from beautiful summers to petrifyingly cold winters and even colder economic realities.<br /><br />But in the sacred dominion of childhood the one thing that must always endure is Santa Claus. And over 1,000 children can’t be wrong. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305311910542982834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s-3uETt5KoQ/SaBBEuqQPrI/AAAAAAAAADM/qvygigworC4/s200/Seeya+soon.JPG" border="0" /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-60365589829414545372009-02-20T18:31:00.000-08:002009-02-20T18:46:41.314-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lcweb2.loc.gov/image/nfor/nfexpe1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 469px; height: 637px;" src="http://lcweb2.loc.gov/image/nfor/nfexpe1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div>I love my country. I always will. But the so-called pillars that until now supposedly held it up never enthralled me. </div><div><br /></div><div>The church - we all know the betrayal there. The government - an ever-shifting tapestry of the underpowered, the undignified, the beholden, the impotents - we all know that. . The judiciary - filth that follows the money flow. </div><div><br /></div><div>The fourth estate - has lost its voice and needs to regain it - but did it ever really have a voice and if it did, did it really use it?</div><div><br /></div><div>The criminals … these days some carry more ammunition than the peacemakers. Others wear suits and hide behind the façade of financial institutions and collect nice bonuses for jobs badly done.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the people … ah, now that’s where redemption lies. This nation is very good at enduring. We had a golden opportunity. We blew it with people carriers and trophy homes. Snakes and ladders, we’re back at the start.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the people …. Ingenuity, compassion, creativity, warmth, necessity, stoicism, charity, energy, trust, ability, ambition … the things that make us Irish … let’s go to war like salmon to the stream. A new world order will emerge. Decisions and actions now will decide how noble we truly are.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our leaders of the future should be people of action. Not people who quote reports, policy documents and blueprints or are ordered around by overpaid civil servants or flanked by PR people. Stop appeasing, stop finessing, just do something.</div><div><br /></div><div>Apologists and ditherers and yokels who sound ‘Stage Irish’ and have nothing to show for their years in office but stuttering and posturing on morning radio are doing nothing for families who need to put food on the table.</div><div><br /></div><div>A change is coming, it’ll take a while but hopefully it’ll be a good change. Let’s never be short-changed again.</div><div><br /></div>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-41763169555328226172009-02-13T06:33:00.000-08:002009-02-13T06:33:44.365-08:00Official Google Blog: Happy trails with My Tracks for Android-powered phones<a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/happy-trails-with-my-tracks-for-android.html">Official Google Blog: Happy trails with My Tracks for Android-powered phones</a>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-30260142630076885432008-11-24T05:00:00.000-08:002008-11-24T05:13:17.106-08:00Stop and think for a minute<a href="http://www.bath.ac.uk/internal/bio-sci/Images/haz%20general%20warning.gif"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 448px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 391px" alt="" src="http://www.bath.ac.uk/internal/bio-sci/Images/haz%20general%20warning.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div>It is with growing discomfort that I'm hearing Bank of Ireland and Irish Life and Permanent have been approached by private equity firms interested in paying €5bn.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I would urge the Irish Government not to allow this to happen.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>It would be Eircom all over again. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Private investors will sweat the assets while the country gets a bum deal.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Irish businesses and citizens need the injection of funds for sure, but at what price?</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-3057608420759431922008-11-04T23:29:00.000-08:002008-11-04T23:36:55.315-08:00Feelin' good<a href="http://campaignwindow.com/georgiastudentsforbarackobama/uploads/georgiastudentsforbarackobama/060922_BarackObama_Xtrawide.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 624px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 301px" alt="" src="http://campaignwindow.com/georgiastudentsforbarackobama/uploads/georgiastudentsforbarackobama/060922_BarackObama_Xtrawide.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>After my first wave of emotion on hearing of Barack Obama's victory, only the immortal Nina Simone's word's can sum it up:</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><em>Its a new dawn</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><div><em>Its a new day</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><div><em>Its a new life</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><div><em>And I'm feeling good</em></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Now let's begin to make the world a better place.</div>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-87521915683777337022008-10-18T07:40:00.000-07:002008-10-18T07:44:04.965-07:00The Government of Ireland<a href="http://media.canada.com/a373a9c0-95d4-4a46-a780-e930d6c76147/0710126-clown.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://media.canada.com/a373a9c0-95d4-4a46-a780-e930d6c76147/0710126-clown.jpg" border="0" /></a> I take pride in the fact that I’ve never had any political allegiances. It goes back to a time when I was probably six or seven and a General Election was underway. You had to be one of two things: pro-Fianna Fail or pro-Fine Gael. Anyone who knows anything about politics in this fair country knows that your political convictions are inherited rather than inspired and much of this goes back to the Civil War.<br /><br />One of the neighbours’ kids was rabidly praising one of these parties and threatening to punch anyone who disagreed. It was the closest thing to realising what the Hitler Youth may have behaved like in the 1930s. I was disgusted.<br /><br />I actually have no faith in Irish politicians, at least some of the ones I have seen in action. Half of them can barely speak coherently, need a good tailor and should steer clear of golf clubs and tents full of builders.<br /><br />As I grew older I was proud to exercise my democratic right to vote and based by decisions on who I thought would be the right people to do the job, reasoning their policies rather than a bloodline of allegiance.<br /><br />I think this week I was proven right. People should only vote on who they consider will be good at the job. The next time a General Election is called this method of reasoning and judgement will be applied and hopefully incompetent politicians will be replaced by people with insight, judgement and reason.<br /><br />On its first perusal Budget 2009 seemed prudent and a ‘not so bad’ mood swept the office where I worked. The next morning though anger, outrage and disgust had filtered through. Some people gave out about things like a tax on parking spaces, but the real hurt – genuine hurt – was felt by fair-minded people over the betrayal inflicted on our country’s senior citizens by introducing means-testing for medical cards.<br /><br />I can’t agree that wealthy people like retired judges or politicians should be entitled to an automatic medical card but having witnessed on many occasions the incompetence of our civil servants, schemes like means-testing confuse, exasperate and delay. No good will come of this.<br /><br />Elderly people who have worked all their life, paid their taxes and find the medical dimension of their lives an ever increasing reality have enough to worry about. The incompetence of the HSE is well documented. The cost of visiting a doctor is already prohibitively expensive and I thank God for my good health that I don’t have to visit an Irish hospital any time soon.<br /><br />In one fell-swoop the current Government of Ireland has abandoned its senior citizens.<br /><br />Also, it has not only cut funding of computers in Irish schools but has increased pupil-to-teacher ratios. This latter move reinforces in my mind the fact that the Irish Government has never appreciated nor understood the gift of the ICT industry on their shores, a sector that will be watching this decision with interest. It employs 85,000 people and wants to do more. Pay attention teachers, parents and politicians, there are good well-paying jobs for people with talent. Hopefully, there always will be.<br /><br />In today’s <em>Irish Independent</em> <a href="http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/fiasco-shows-ff-has-lost-touch-with-middle-ireland-1502757.html">James Downey wrote </a>with insight on Middle Ireland’s reaction to the Budget: “It expected hardship. It got it. What it did not get was coherence.”<br /><br />I could qualify this: it expected hardship. It did not expect to be heart-broken.<br /><br />The Government may or not do a U-turn on the medical card issue. But whatever it does do not forget what happened. The next time a General Election is called base your voting decisions on reasoning the right people for the job. Don’t be blinded by blood allegiances. Do not forget this fiasco.<br /><br />JKJohn Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-89194134554069828512008-09-30T01:49:00.000-07:002008-09-30T02:11:18.360-07:00Bankers!<a href="http://www.domino.cc/images/dominos/dominos_250x251.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.domino.cc/images/dominos/dominos_250x251.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>All my life I'd been led to believe that banks and those that worked in them were better than the rest of us. They were always correct and an admonishment for being overdrawn or not paying your credit card bill on time was like a metal ruler across your knuckles or moral disproval from a priest or rabii.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The <a href="http://www.independent.ie/business/world/meltdown-monday-1485741.html">events of the last few days </a>have no doubt focused my mind and the minds of others that banks are not infallible and that those who run them can mess up like anyone else. But when you read the business pages and hear of city boys and girls in London being paid bonuses of six-figure sums, or chief executives of Irish banks being also paid such sums, it reinforces the notion that these people must have been on speaking terms with God.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>No doubt in recent days these useless bankers must have been wishing they had a cellestial telephone line directly to God.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I remember having the temerity to ask for a student loan when I was 19 only to have to listen to the bank manager tell me "no" in 15 different ways for half an hour. I felt he got some kind of pleasure out of the experience.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>While I completely understand <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/483ad64a-8e53-11dd-9b46-0000779fd18c.html?nclick_check=1">US citizens' anger </a>at how these overpaid crettins with their golden handshakes and skyscraper bonuses do not deserve to be bailed out, this morning's move by the <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2124f8f4-8eb9-11dd-946c-0000779fd18c.html">Irish Government </a>- though not without potential pitfalls - to guarantee Irish-owned banks was the right decision. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Firstly, it instils confidence, the rest of Europe may follow.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Ireland isn't of the same scale as the US or UK to have such financial meltdowns, but our objective to remain an international trading centre should stay on track.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The recent days may actually put us back on the road we should have stayed on. Wages may become more real and continue to attract investment, our corporate tax rate is still an important selling point and if the Government actually does stick through to the National Development Plan's infrastructural investments we may ride this crisis out and be in a position of relative strenght.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>We lost our heads during the Celtic Tiger years, we became fat and bumptious with our SUVs, golf clubs in the sun and having to have a house bigger than our neighbour's. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>That isn't Irish, that isn't what makes us special. What makes us special is having a clear head in a crisis, working our asses off and being honourable and charitable to those in need. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I read somewhere that the Irish used to rush to the sound of gunfire like salmon to the stream. In some ways we are a fatalistic people, but ultimately an optimisic one. We'll not only need clarity, optimism and realism in equal measure in the months ahead, but wisdom and fortitude.</div><br /><div></div>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-12170670755904734602008-09-24T23:16:00.000-07:002008-09-24T23:23:40.073-07:00JK on how to make an entrance<a href="http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/wp-content/2008/04/zoolander_blog240x303.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/wp-content/2008/04/zoolander_blog240x303.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>After being harangued by friends of mine who are throwing a party to reply with darn RSVP so whatever system they are using gives them accurate numbers I sighed wearily in the office that I never, really, RSVP anyone. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Never RSVP</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So when you do show up you create a cloud of confusion/consternation/relief/delight/anger</div><br /><div>Or you get shown the door for the scamp that you are</div>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-471422186947102532008-07-20T05:45:00.000-07:002008-07-20T06:05:56.674-07:00The iPhone 3G: A thing of dazzling lights and shimmering beauty<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/IPhone_Image_Viewer.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/IPhone_Image_Viewer.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>At a party once I had a conversation with fellow technology journalist <a href="http://www.techno-culture.com/">Karlin Lillington </a>about the role of technology journalists, bloggers and the world at large. We both agreed that we have been privileged to witness first hand the greatest cultural revolution since the invention of the printing press. Perhaps Karlin more than I since she grew up in and around Silicon Valley.<br /><br />But the last 15 years of my life have been spectacular and breath-taking. I’ve met fantastic and interesting people in the industry – including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Barrett_%28businessman%29">Craig Barrett</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vint_Cerf">Vint Cerf</a> – and attended at least three addresses by Microsoft’s Bill Gates and one by Google’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Page">Sergey Brin </a>and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Page">Larry Page</a>. I’ve been to all ends of the world, from Singapore to Seattle, and even got mild frost bite on a mountain near Salt Lake City. Standing on the Grand Canal in Venice on a hot day sipping chilled white wine or boogying to James Brown in Dublin have more than compensated.<br /><br />When I began in journalism it was very hard to get a start in any form of paid work in the craft. In 1994 after stints of court reporting for the <a href="http://www.independent.ie/">Irish Independent</a>, I eventually got my break – a chance to edit and develop an electronics magazine called Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) and a sister publication called Irish Chemical Journal before graduating to Irish Computer and then becoming tech editor for Business & Finance and witnessing – and partaking in – the excesses of the dot.com era. The onset of <a href="http://www.siliconrepublic.com/">www.siliconrepublic.com</a> and chronicling the tech landscape for the general public through E-Thursday and Digital Ireland have only added to and steadied my perspective on the technology or, should I say, digital revolution.<br /><br />In the early 1990s, because I had no academic background in technology I made it my mission to go and visit electronics plants the length and breadth of Ireland that were the pre-cursor to the Celtic Tiger boom, ranging from Nortel in Galway to Seagate in Clonmel, Motorola in Swords, ALPS in Cork and Apple Computer, which conducted a major amount of manufacturing in Cork city.<br /><br />On that visit in 1995 I met current country sales manager Liam Donohoe and got to witness the relentless rhythm of chips being hammered and glued onto printed circuit boards in the manufacture of notebook computers destined for the four corners of Earth. I began to see every single one of these plants as integral to a vast supply chain in which Ireland was playing a small but worthy role. At the time, if I said “technology journalist” to anyone they would have looked at me as if I had two heads. The vast potential of technology in shaping the world and entertaining and informing our lives was beyond me at that point, as it was most people in a country where PC penetration was lacklustre.<br /><br />The point I want to make in this post is I believe technology and its coverage has come full circle to a point where its overall potential is being only now being realised by devices like the <a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/">Xbox 360 </a>and yes, of course (I’m getting to it) the <a href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/">Apple 3G iPhone</a>. The vast implications again are beyond us and we are on the brink once more of an exciting new time.<br /><br />When I received my first text message on a rainy November evening in Dublin from veteran tech writer Ray Okonski, letting me know his copy for a magazine I edited called Communications Today was filed, it was an epiphany.<br /><br />On a Sunday afternoon as the iPhone 3G buzzes in my hand to let me know a new email has arrived, interrupting my leisurely look at Top Ten alternative rock albums on <a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/overview/">iTunes</a> – <a href="http://www.coldplay.com/index.php">Coldplay’s Viva la Vida</a> is number one – I realise once more the potent forces about to be unleashed.<br /><br />The iPhone 3G is an elegant piece of technology that should send tremors of terror through established players like <a href="http://www.motorola.com/">Motorola</a> and <a href="http://www.nokia.com/">Nokia</a>, and that linear menus and half-way houses of touch screens and buttons are on the out. Nokia’s N95 is a brave and beautiful effort, while <a href="http://samsungtocco.com/">Samsung’s Tocco</a> – what I consider a mini-iPhone including As Gaeilge – is the only thing that currently comes close.<br /><br />The things that have amazed me the most about the iPhone 3G – an 8GB version – are the simple to use Safari web browser (turn it on its side and you get full screen internet), the iPod functionality and the wonderful picture album. To get a close up of the image on your screen you simple spread your fingers to expand and to contract just pinch your fingers.<br /><br />Sifting through photographs is again, quick and easy. Just flick with a finger and a carousel of your favourite shots just flick by.<br /><br />The mapping function is surprisingly quick, calculating the fastest route to get from A to B, and the writing function for texts, web addresses and notes is a massive step forward. I have to admit the 3G coverage – poor where I live – has underwhelmed me, but thanks to a Wi-Fi network in my house I can appreciate the device’s full potential.<br /><br />But ultimately it’s the elegance of the operating system that wins it for me. Nothing the established mobile industry has put together thus far comes near in terms of simplicity and ease of use. You’d think they’d learn. Well, they will. Just like the Japanese at Pearl Harbour did for the Americans, Apple has awakened a sleeping giant … an alarmingly complacent mobile industry … from its slumber.<br /><br />Apple deserves the success it will derive from the iPhone. It did its homework and painstakingly realised its vision. And of course thanks to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_jobs">Steve Jobs’ </a>hype machine and savvy marketing organisation.<br /><br />It also deserves the kudos for bringing the mobile revolution back from an unannounced four year holiday. Expect a new revolution in entertainment, business and our working lives to come our way as the technology industry is once again imbued with purpose.<br /><br />It is just one element of a vast movement underway, such as two-way digital television that electronics giants such as Intel are working on, according to the company’s <a href="http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/10396/business/intel-next-gen-canmore-chip-to-be-made-in-ireland/">home entertainment VP Eric Kim</a>, and that should debut at the next <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Electronics_Show">Consumer Electronics Show</a>.<br /><br />The world’s too vast for us now …. Seeya!</div>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-6936812803306041952008-06-24T06:23:00.000-07:002008-06-24T06:56:07.808-07:00Will the last person to leave the country please turn out the lightsSo it's official - we're in a recession. <a href="http://www.independent.ie/national-news/we-blew-the-boom-1419958.html">http://www.independent.ie/national-news/we-blew-the-boom-1419958.html</a><br /><br />I sat stony-faced in my car as the findings of the ESRI were read out on the radio. I partied hard with everybody else but never forgot the dismal 80s and 90s - when as a college student having to sign on the dole because there weren't even part-time summer jobs available.<br /><a href="http://www.scothosts.com/www/images/teleworking.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.scothosts.com/www/images/teleworking.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />This shocks me to my core but I have to admit along with everybody else that we had to have seen this coming. We had our economic boom, our Celtic Tiger. Why don't we just make the right decisions to ensure at least - good times or bad - our dear nation knows stability. Stability is a form of prosperity.<br /><br />The rumour mills suggest that the government is planning to announce ubiquitious broadband as part of its National Broadband Strategy next week (3 July).<br /><br />I couldn't urge this more. A person at home with a computer and a broadband connection is capable of setting up a business or an industry - as we have seen in recent years. It's a lot more than their counterpart at home in the 1990s had. Except for a one-way plane ticket to America.<br /><br />This is not an epiphany, it's real. Enterprise and entrepreneurship are the antidote for unemployment and recession. Encourage people to use computers and broadband to beat the recession, they can work for anyone from anywhere. They can create businesses based on anything from selling stuff on eBay to using their intelligence to write, provide consultancy services or develop technology. This is the way out. Failure to provide them with the tools is economic sabotage. Let's hope intelligence prevails.John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-62146914366391624222008-06-12T01:18:00.000-07:002008-06-12T03:32:16.655-07:00Lack of political willpower is killing broadband in Ireland<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Fibreoptic.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Fibreoptic.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><ul><li>Every morning I join a convoy of neighbours who depart from our tiny little village on the 45min-1hr drive to our capital city. I don't mind the drive, I listen to the radio and get up to speed. As an editor my job requires my presence at the office most of the time to attend meetings, make editorial/design decisions, guide my team of writers, etc. But the writing aspect I can do from pretty much anywhere - and I have! Park benches, phone boxes, airplanes, trains, buses, airports, etc.<br /><br />As a 21st century technology journalist I need a 24x7 awareness of what's happening in the digital world. Before I leave in the morning I ought to have scanned the web, checked email and if an urgent story needs writing - BANG - it's done. At the weekend if it moves, I’d shoot it. That was my routine when I lived in Dublin.<br /><br />But like many of my fellow journeymen I don't have that luxury. My village is not served with broadband. When I moved into my new home in January, Eircom were meant to have broadband-enabled the local exchange by April. I thought I could live with the pain for four months. I have to rely on my Blackberry until I get to my desk.<br /><br />Then it slipped to June, and now – apparently because the equipment in the exchange is ancient – this could slip into July. I’m literally going mad.<br /><br />While I would give my eye teeth just for a miniscule 1Mbps connection at home, the world has in fact moved on. 3Mbps is the average connection speed in Ireland whereas 16Mbps is the average speed across OECD countries.<br /><br />Fibre is the next hurdle and thanks to lack of vision in the Irish Government – consistent for the past 10 years and not helped by mentally constipated, overpaid civil servants and useless expert panels.<br /><br />Eircom chairman Pierre Danon’s announcement to leave to join a French broadband firm that already has fibre infrastructure should focus minds here, but it hasn’t. I don’t blame him. Fibre is the future, not DSL. In fact, we probably have the same total number of consumer fibre subscribers in this country as the number of Eircom chairmen over the last 10 years.<br /><br />A few things that are abundantly clear to me:<br /><br />The Government doesn’t seem to understand that if we don’t get the fibre issue right in the next year, it will take 15 years to resolve by which time Ireland could have lapsed back into the economic doldrums we survived through the 80s and 90s (anyone know where I can get a half decent plough or a Green Card)<br />There appears to be minimal dialogue between the Government (aka Communications Minister Eamon Ryan TD) and Eircom over the fibre issue. In fact, I reckon the two entities have been doing their communicating via the press – <a href="http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single11108">http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single11108</a> – rather than straightforward talking.<br />The National Broadband Strategy (the follow-up to the disastrous Group Broadband Scheme) was announced a year ago and we still have no winning consortium. It could take another year before broadband-deprived areas have the now ancient 1Mbps minimal connection<br />As revealed this morning by Damien Mulley, minimal attention and resources have been given to the above scheme: <a href="http://www.mulley.net/">http://www.mulley.net/</a><br />The Next Generation Broadband Strategy document due to be presented by the Minister for Communications in March still hasn’t been unveiled (any day now I hope)<br />Our education system is under-resourced in terms of ICT – Tesco is probably the biggest contributor of computers to Irish schools, followed by parents giving up their free time<br /><br />The bottom line is Ireland needs leaders, dynamic people of vision to propel the country forward for the next few decades and the truth is that we haven’t seen these kind of people since Sean Lemass and TK Whitaker. Stuttering, posturing politicians and bureaucrats don’t impress me, they never did.<br /><br />The Irish Government and its pampered civil servants need to wake up to the economic reality. Within three years 50Mbps connections will be standard across Europe with some economies enjoying 100Mbps like Korea and Japan already do. Ireland may not see any of this for 15 years unless the right decisions are made.<br /><br />Our pretence to the throne of “knowledge economy” is a pipe dream that fits nicely into prepared speeches. A nice idea, but it’s not reality. There’s an opportunity available for dynamic visionaries to make the right decisions here and now. Anyone want the job?</li></ul>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-65591910863827358002008-06-06T06:51:00.000-07:002008-06-06T07:09:16.348-07:00Are we dispassionate compared to our ancestors?<div><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/Capa%2C_Death_of_a_Loyalist_Soldier.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/Capa%2C_Death_of_a_Loyalist_Soldier.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Have you ever had to fight for something you believe in? In fact, is there anything you do believe in that’s worth fighting for? We say we’re inflamed about the environment.<br />We say we’re angry about politicians who take hand-outs. We abhor injustice, we want to stamp out poverty, we want to rule out racial prejudice and are horrified at the rising levels of crime. But what do we do about it?<br />We create the means to communicate and write and create, yet we’re shocked when teens turn the World Wide Web into a living version of Golding’s The Lord of the Flies – to insult, offend, isolate and hurt.<br />Yet, we stand by and wag our fingers when protesters disable jets belonging to a regime that attacks a country just for oil under the pretence of defence.<br />I think we are becoming too comfortable with our standard of living and apparent luxuries. We frown at people who stand out, go against the realpolitik and make nuisances of themselves protesting, taking action.<br />The world today is incredibly complex and incredibly dangerous. But there are no sides to take. We slave to the wage and compartmentalise everything into that shining box of lights that adorns our living room. The horror may as well be something you’re absorbing from a DVD. We are becoming numb. But there are no sides to take, we just stand by and disapprove. If there are sides to take it’s too much effort to leave the comfort zone and we risk being marginalised.<br />The reason I’m thinking along these lines is because I’m reading an excellent book by Anthony Beevor called The Battle for Spain. It traces the origins of the Spanish Civil War back to Spain’s position as the granary of the Roman Empire and how the aristocracy reformed the agricultural landscape to focus on more cash-rich products, instantly creating a barren landscape full of peasantry. This bubbled away for years as the Church helped to maintain the status quo.<br />Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 communism became an international socialist agenda the situation in Spain became a class war pretty much between the dispossessed and uneducated workers and peasantry on one side and the more Fascist-leaning aristocracy and Church on the other. <a href="http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/7/A70-3998"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/7/A70-3998" border="0" /></a><br />The war became polarised between communism and fascism and in Europe in the 1930s it was a very real concern. Thousands of young idealists flocked to the banners of either side and the idealism and zealous ardour was captured perfectly not only by Beevor but also by director Ken Loach in his 1995 film Land and Freedom. You can check it out here: <a href="http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Land+and+Freedom&sitesearch">http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Land+and+Freedom&sitesearch</a><a href="http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Land+and+Freedom&sitesearch">=#</a></div><br /><div>I think its okay to have a cause. I think it’s good to have an interest in politics, whatever your viewpoint. But when I survey the tired, jaded scene of politics in the US and politics right home here in Ireland I feel anxious that really dynamic, interesting, idealistic people aren’t speaking out.<br />Where are they gone? Is everyone really happy with their lot and afraid to upset the bandwagon?<br />At the time of the Spanish Civil War, prominent journalists like Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell either reported and took part in the fighting. When I think particularly of Orwell’s reportage and writings warning us of totalitarian regimes such as in the eponymous 1984 I can’t help but think of now and what he would have made of the world today.</div><br /><div></div></div>John Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7699927159699963973.post-80282112075864735902008-06-06T06:40:00.001-07:002008-06-06T06:50:58.944-07:00Belarus 2008I promised the world a write-up on what we got up to on the Chernobyl trip in Januarythis year and every time s<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s-3uETt5KoQ/SEk_5Q-kZfI/AAAAAAAAABI/bA51ngSpeEI/s1600-h/170.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208764697073182194" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s-3uETt5KoQ/SEk_5Q-kZfI/AAAAAAAAABI/bA51ngSpeEI/s320/170.JPG" border="0" /></a>omeone asked me a question about how it went, my very jaded mind raced and it was very hard to really say how profound the experience really was. Avoiding clichés like tired, emotional and moving was impossible. A humbling experience? Definitely. I have tons of photography and a diary of notes that were intended for a blog that has yet to emerge. Now, here it is:<br />Thank you to everyone who donated. I raised close to €16,000 from Whitespace Ltd, Whitespace staff and corporate sponsors and I can guarantee you every cent was well spent (as you’ll read below). Collectively the team raised €120,000 for this year’s trip. 13 of us went out and worked very hard; every day was an early start and late evening and involved first-rate logistics and planning. There was very little personal time and I can guarantee you everyone left their egos at home<br />It was an eclectic bunch who went. As well as journalists and PR people, the team included a civil servant, a banker, a businessman, a gardener, a BBC music copyright executive, an architect and an accountant. The craic was mighty!<br />The aforementioned BBC executive is just back from India after organising the distribution of books to 500 orphanages<br />Some of the kids weren’t likely to see Santa Claus this year and those that have received a visit from the Santa trip previously wait earnestly for it every year thereafter<br />The kids’ anticipation is magical but also reminds you that this feeling is universal; we’re all the same<br />Seeing the kids receive presents, their joy and gratitude but also the emotional joy on the faces of their carers is amazing to behold, impossible to forget … the greatest feeling. One little boy started to cry when he received his toy. We thought he didn’t like his present, but when we asked we found out he was overcome by the fact that he got a present in the first place<br />Most of the guys on the trip got to be Santa or Father Frost as it is known there – I can’t tell you the stage fright you can get – Conor’s inflatable Santa suit caused a storm and provoked a near stampede by a gang of five year-olds at an orphanage in Dyatlovo, near the Lithuanian border<br />Watching Tom and the team in action was dramatic and inspiring – everything from windows, baths, beds, pets, roofs, books, toys, clothes, school equipment, kitchen equipment, games etc. would be decided for an orphanage following an assessment, and an exercise in delegation to procure everything; no one was left without a range of daily tasks<br />Visiting orphanages that had previously received support from the International Orphanage Development Programme, it was remarkable the impact they had in terms of the well-being of the children. Everyday things that we all take for granted from warmth to hygiene mean a lot … orphanages that were found in a deplorable condition a decade ago were able to demonstrate clean, modern facilities<br />Our team of interpreters were first-rate, worked really hard and were great, great fun<br />My own observation on the orphanages we visited is that despite insufficient State support and infrastructure, they are staffed by dedicated individuals and you cannot but be moved by the love they have for their orphans and devotion to their welfare<br />There was a strident emphasis on education in each orphanage and I met many extremely bright kids with strong ambitions for the future, including 12 year-old Yuri who could speak perfect English and who when he grows up wants to become a computer programmer making special FX for Hollyw<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s-3uETt5KoQ/SEk_5w-kZgI/AAAAAAAAABQ/w5HlZ1we_XM/s1600-h/192.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208764705663116802" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s-3uETt5KoQ/SEk_5w-kZgI/AAAAAAAAABQ/w5HlZ1we_XM/s320/192.JPG" border="0" /></a>ood movies<br />Every moment there reminded me how precious life is and emphasised that the dignity of the child should be foremostJohn Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835644481449986476noreply@blogger.com0